Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision

Bree and her friends have escaped the clutches of the Egrian King, but their troubles are far from over. Still reeling from the secrets that drew new breath when her father took his last, Bree sets off for the safety of Nereidium-- the kingdom she's just learned is hers.

But with the King's ire at its peak and war a certainty, Nereidium is no longer safe. As Prince Caden rallies the Egrian people against his tyrant father, Bree, Princess Aleta, and Tregle race to the Nereid shore to warn them of the incoming danger—and to put the Nereid Princess on the throne.

The only trouble there: Bree can’t bring herself to reveal that the Princess is her.

It’s not a dilemma she can waste time pondering. With a new weapon in his arsenal, the King's strikes are sure to be bolder than ever before. And Bree may not be ready to wear a crown… but she won't let her kingdom down without a fight.

Ahhhhhhh…I’m going to need the next book like right now.

Riot of Storm and Smoke is book two of the Threats of Sky and Sea series and I admit it…I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book because if you know me, you know how impatient I am with series books. When I came across book one last year I was pleasantly surprised so I jumped at the chance to read book two as soon as I could. If you haven’t read the first book, maybe stop here and go read it…then go get book two and come back and let’s talk about all the things.

So first, I have to say, I had to go back to book one to read the last few chapters. It had been quite a while since I read the story that all I remembered was that I needed to know more. With that said, as soon as I got caught back up, I was pulled right back into the story. Book two picks up right where book one left off so you aren’t missing any action or momentum at all.

I still really like Bree and I feel like she came into her own in this book. There are definitely times where she almost gives in to the futility of her situation but then she would push forward…which I appreciate. While Bree struggles to figure out her power, she also has a decision to make. Now that she knows who she really is, she has to decide whether she will come forward or keep it a secret. I have to admit, I wanted her to step forward without being forced into it but I can’t blame her for wanting to distance herself from what will come when she shares her secret.

If you know me at all, you also know I like my swoony parts along with everything else and I have to say, I was worried Bree and Caden were going to be separated for the entire book. Thankfully they do end up coming back together and I loved everything about that reunion.

The reason they were separated is that Bree, Aleta, and Tregle are headed out to Nereidium to save Aleta’s people and Caden knows he can’t go. He has to do whatever he can to stop his father. Unfortunately for him, the King suspects Caden knows where the girls are hiding and he is willing to do whatever he can to get them back…including torturing his only son and heir to the throne.

With Caden’s ties to the underground, Bree and group get away and eventually Caden gets away from the king too. But that doesn’t mean their problems go away. As Caden realizes his father is actually pretty evil, he decides he will do whatever it takes to save the Egrian people from his father’s greed and thirst for power. While Caden travels the countryside to build an army, he comes to terms with the fact that his father isn’t who he thought he was and because of that, he’s able to push forward, even when faced with something truly unthinkable.

The secondary characters are done well in this series as well and have pretty pivotal parts. We meet some new ones and get to see some of the ones that have been around since the beginning. I really liked Sir Liam and I thought Elena added another layer that I wasn’t expecting. If you don’t know who Elena is, definitely check out the novella that addresses her story.

So…there isn’t much else I can say without giving any of the story away. As always, I don’t want to ruin any bit of this book for you. If you are looking for a story that has magic, danger, action, and of course, swoony parts, definitely check this one out. I am really looking forward to the next book of this series as I am curious to see what impact the ending of this one has on the rest of the players. If it has been a while since you read book one, definitely refresh yourself with how it ended. It really helped me get back into the story!

About Erin

In no particular order, I love books, music, and sarcasm. Traveling is one of my most favorite things to do and there are 3 crazy cats that basically run our house. I sometimes talk about all of these things!